by David P. Diaz

[For more photos of the trip, see the PROCIGAR SLIDESHOW]

On March 4, 2008, my day started, unlike most others, at 4:00 am. Even at such an early hour, I literally launched myself out of bed. Today, I would be in the Dominican Republic for the first annual ProCigar Festival!

Mind you, it was no easy matter getting to the DR from my home on the Central Coast of California. A total of three flights, 9 hours airtime, and a 4-hour time difference once over there, made for a pretty long day.

And yet, when I arrived in Santiago de los Caballeros, I was infused with new life. The organizing team of the 2008 ProCigar Festival made sure participants had fresh cigars in our hands as soon as we exited the airport. By the time I had reached the hotel, I was back in the swing of things. I felt like I had never left the Dominican Republic, even though it had been two months since my last visit.

Approximately 200 sojourners from around the world converged in Santiago on March 5-8 for this historic occasion. Starting at 7:00 am daily and never finishing before midnight, we were treated to tours of the farms and factories of the ProCigar Association members, treated to delicious lunches, and festive dinner events, and, of course, as many cigars as we could smoke.

ProCigar is the Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers. The Association was formed in 1992 and includes many of the most traditional and experienced Cigar Manufacturers in the Dominican Republic. The association's objectives are to promote the rich cigar heritage and maintain the quality of the cigars issuing from the Dominican Republic, thereby preserving their status as the world's premier manufacturer of premium cigars.

Association members include: General Cigar, La Aurora, Matasa, Tabacalera de García, Tabadom (which makes Davidoff, The Griffins, and Avo), and Tabaquisa SA (Juan Clemente cigars).

Because there were so many attendees, we were split into several groups and our visits were staggered among the manufacturers. I was with the “Blue” group, signified by our blue wristbands.

DAY ONE: LA AURORA AND MATASA

On day one, our first tour was of the La Aurora factory with our guide, Director of Sales, José Blanco. La Aurora, though a medium-sized cigar manufacturer, is rich in history and lays claim to being the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic. They have been making cigars since 1903. 

BELOW: José Blanco, Aurora Cigars

After lunch we were whisked off to the MATASA factory and listened to company president Manuel Quesada tell us about the ProCigar Association, about Dominican cigars, and about his company. MATASA makes Fonseca, Cubita, Nat Sherman and Licenciados, among others.

BELOW: Special Boxes of Fonseca Cigars for Festval Participants

While touring the MATASA factory, I was intrigued with how their processes compared to those of La Aurora. Though the basic processes of growing tobacco, curing and fermentation, and making cigars are essentially the same, there are many small details that differ between companies. Perhaps it’s the way the soil is fertilized, or how long the leaves are cured and fermented. Sometimes there are different tools used in the factory, like different types of presses or molds. And sometimes it is the techniques used for rolling or bunching. Yet, each factory does it in a way that they think will produce the finest cigars. That one goal is something that is shared by all companies in the ProCigar association.

The first evening we were the guests of Grupo León Jimenes (GLJ) at the Cultural Center that they donated to the city of Santiago. The cultural center is host to a baseball exhibit from July 2007 through May 2008.

ABOVE: No Shortage of... CIGARS at Events

PHOTO: Entertainment was World-Class

Baseball is the national pastime in the Dominican Republic, much like in the U.S.  The exhibit was fantastic, filled with multimedia: audio, video, and many other elements. After the tour we were treated to a gourmet dinner in an outdoor amphitheatre and a fabulous Caribbean-themed dance presentation. I was dragging, yet content, as I laid my head on my pillow that first night at about 2:00 am. Six 0’clock the next morning would come too soon.

DAY TWO: GENERAL CIGAR

Day two was a day spent at General Cigar. General Cigar has to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, cigar company in the world. They employ 4,000 people in the Dominican Republic alone, and over 8,000 total employees, which also includes farms and factories in Honduras. General Cigar manufactures the Dominican versions of Partagás, Cohiba, Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, Macanudo, Romeo y Julieta, and others

BELOW: Tobacco Farm of General Cigar

BELOW: Old Style Curing Barn

That evening we were transported to downtown Santiago and the famous memorial “Monumento Heroes a la Restauración,” which is a monument dedicated to the fallen heroes of the revolution. The base of the monument was a beehive of activity with carnival-costumed dancers, bands, and vendors of all sorts. We enjoyed the time outdoors, along with our share of cigars and libation. Then, we boarded 30 open-air horse drawn carriages and were transported through the streets of Santiago to Duarte Park, where we were entertained by a symphony orchestra just prior to dinner.

The dinner festivities included another dance performance with the “Evolution of Tobacco” as the theme. As usual, the dinner fare was exquisite and after many cigars and an entertaining evening, we made it back to our hotels after midnight to rest up for the third day of the Festival.

DAY THREE: DAVIDOFF

The third day began with a drive to Jicomé and the farms where tobaccos for Davidoff Cigars are grown. As we reached the tobacco farm, the bus crawled slowly down the dirt road and we finally disembarked only to be greeted by one of the farm workers holding a $2000 Davidoff humidor filled with cigars. I first plucked a couple of cigars from the humi (priorities, right?) and then started snapping photos.

ABOVE: Hendrik Kelner Jr. made sure there were enough cigars

BELOW: Doc poses with Hendrik Sr., President of Davidoff

Our initial guide was Hendrik Kelner Jr., son of company president Hendrik “Heinke” Kelner. Hendrik Jr. provided us an introduction and then handed off the tour to his father who escorted us through the fields where the tobacco was being grown. There is definitely something to be said for walking through a tobacco field in the Dominican Republic, while smoking a Davidoff Millennium Blend and listening to the president of the Davidoff Company talking tobacco. Believe me, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

One thing that caught my attention in visiting the farms in the Dominican Republic was the wind. It is VERY windy and, as it turns out, the wind is one of the reasons why it has been difficult to grow good wrapper tobacco in the DR. Both General Cigar and Davidoff have planted dense, high-growing plants around the fields for wind protection. Davidoff has also planted corn inside the fields for extra protection (and to supply food for locals).

ABOVE: Davidoff Quality Control Expert

After lunch in the Davidoff cafeteria, we headed to the showpiece of the company: the factory. The Davidoff compound actually houses three separate factories. The first makes all the Davidoff cigars; the second is called OK Cigars and makes Avo and The Griffin’s. The third factory is not part of the Tabadom Group and yet the methods and processes are pretty much the same. There are several brands that are produced in that third factory.

In this my second visit to the Davidoff factory, I confirmed my belief that there is no other factory that has better quality control measures than Davidoff. While quality is a primary concern of all cigar factories, I have yet to see any factory that has as many quality control measures in place as does Davidoff. Period.

The final evening festivities moved to a more formal venue: Centro Español, a private country club. This last evening was more exquisite than prior evenings as the entire facility was decorated from floor to ceiling with streamers, lights, and other ornamentations. This night included yet another dance performance, which, if possible, was even more fabulous than the first two. Themed the “Carnival Around the World,” this show featured spectacular costumes, lighting, and choreography.

Below: Final Evening’s Extravaganza

Also included was a charity auction and the prizes were fabulous: Davidoff humidor with 70 Davidoff cigars, a Limited Edition La Aurora humidor filled with 60 Salomones with the 100 Años blend, a General Cigar Signature humidor with 100 cigars, a MATASA 30th Anniversary humidor with 75 30th Anniversary cigars in 3 different sizes. And the list went on: special bottlings of Champagne and Rum, exclusive time pieces; even two signed Avo Uvezian hats, signed by the man himself, who was in attendance at the event. Ever the dangerous one at auctions, I came away with two tickets to the Big Smoke in New York in 2008, including a private cigar and Cognac tasting at the Davidoff store in New York.

Above: Joe Chiusano of Cusano Cigars

The 2008 ProCigar Festival came to an end that evening and yet most of us still wanted more. Upon my return home, I was left with several days of decompression, and recovery and a desire to go back to the cigar capital of the world. My respect for Dominican cigars has taken a giant leap over the last few months. What I have seen with my very own eyes and what I have experienced in smoking so many Dominican-made cigars, has been nothing short of inspiring. I am looking forward to seeing exponential growth in the Dominican cigar market and am also anticipating some incredible new products into the future.